Lifelong Learners - LV

Carl Sagan today is perhaps best remembered as the author and narrator of the tv series Cosmos, or maybe as the author of the novel Contact, made into the identically titled movie with Jodie Foster.

But today, thirty years after it was written, The Demon-Haunted World is sadly more relevant than ever. This is NOT at all obvious from a perusal of its chapters - it's obviously a book of its time, dealing with pseudo-science fads of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

So the book almost reads as an historical document, allowing us to laugh at the misbeliefs of the past, or at Sagan's inaccuracies that time has revealed.

But astute readers (that's you - especially if you've made it this far through my write-up!) will see beyond the specific examples, and realize that Sagan's defense of science and inquiry has actually become controversial.

I was tempted to suggest excising various chapters to make this a shorter read, as it is a bit long, but it's not for me to edit Carl Sagan.

Ps. Note that both time and date may change.

Acclaimed clinical psychologist Jordan B Peterson has influenced the modern understanding of personality, and now he has become one of the world's most popular public thinkers, with his lectures on topics from the Bible to romantic relationships to mythology drawing tens of millions of viewers. In an era of unprecedented change and polarizing politics, his frank and refreshing message about the value of individual responsibility and ancient wisdom has resonated around the world.

In this book, he provides twelve profound and practical principles for how to live a meaningful life, from setting your house in order before criticizing others to comparing yourself to who you were yesterday, not someone else today. Happiness is a pointless goal, he shows us. Instead we must search for meaning, not for its own sake, but as a defense against the suffering that is intrinsic to our existence.

Drawing on vivid examples from the author's clinical practice and personal life, cutting-edge psychology and philosophy, and lessons from humanity's oldest myths and stories, 12 Rules for Life offers a deeply rewarding antidote to the chaos in our lives: eternal truths applied to our modern problems.

What I learned from this book: "I'm ... a clumsy pseudo-fungus", but this I already knew (and this opinion was affirmed to me by at least one ex).

The book is How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries by David George Haskell, and argues for importance of the flowering plants in the evolution of modern life on earth.

It is neither technical nor academic, while also avoiding being too autobiographical or breeezy. As is typical of pop-sci books of this ilk, you follow the author around to various places, people, events, as he drops bits of science on you (for example, as he's planting eel grass in the Forth of Firth, he explains, "One of the great advantages of flowers is the maternal care they provide.").

Note that the date and location may both change.

Ps. The image used is Series I White & Blue Flower Shapes (1919) by Georgia O'Keeffe